


An Early Fright

by Lieju



Series: Jerk Vampire AU [6]
Category: Gaston (Bande Dessinée)
Genre: Death, Evil Vampires, Gen, Happy halloween, M/M, Vampires, bloodsucking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 08:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8437933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieju/pseuds/Lieju
Summary: Prunelle wakes up in a grave. (Takes place during the first story in this AU,  His Habits - a Saunter)





	

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

At first there was nothing but blind panic.

 

No understanding of who or what he was.

 

Or why he was trapped.

 

He trashed around, hitting something in all directions.

 

It was impossible to tell time in the dark, and he lost consciousness every now and then, but eventually he calmed down, utterly exhausted.

 

At that point he was starting to get back some resemblance of self, but all he could tell was that there was something badly wrong with him. An odd numbness encapsulated him, and his teeth felt unnatural.

 

Prunelle laid still. It was important to conserve air.

Slowly, he started feeling around. He appeared to be trapped in a small box that was lined with soft material.

He pushed against the lid, but was unable to make it budge.

He gave up, completely exhausted.

 

Not that it was like normal exhaustion...

 

And he realized he had been holding his breath for a long time.

 

He closed his eyes, held his breath and started counting.

At 100 he stopped.

 

He still felt no need to breath.

 

Too tired to think, he just lay there, and fell unconscious again.

 

When he next came to, he was just tired.

 

And so _hungry_.

Nothing really mattered apart from it.

 

He could feel himself shifting to another shape, becoming formless.

Slowly, he drifted upwards, eventually rising from the ground, like in a dream.

 

And the pain punched through his being, making him solid.

 

He hissed in agony. Everything burned.

The bright sun had become hostile, doing its best to burn him.

 

He staggered to the nearby shed, and collapsed on the floor.

 

"You're not supposed to be here. Hey, Mister, are you okay-"

 

It wasn't before the warm human form he was grasping fell limp that sense caught with Prunelle.

 

And yet, he didn't let go before the last drop of blood was drained from the body.

Not really full, but at least not completely starving, he let his victim drop on the floor of the shed. What was going on?

 

The man, a caretaker of some kind, seemed to be dead. So Prunelle dragged him to the back of the shed and threw a sack of manure over him to hide the corpse.

 

But what was _he_?

 

From what Prunelle could tell, he was looking normal, if very pale. Apart from his teeth that were sharp and capable of tearing into human throats now. He ran his tongue on his teeth. They were pointy, but was it just his imagination or had they been sharper before?

 

For some reason he was wearing his black suit. Not something he'd usually wear. Something had happened, but his memory was still shaky...

 

He sat down to wait for the night.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a graveyard.

 

Prunelle staggered back to where he had come from, and was faced with a tomb-stone.

 

With his name on it.

 

They had thought he had died and buried him.

 

No, thinking back to what he was now, he probably _had_ died. He was dead. Some kind of an undead creature.

 

He'd have to get back. To let them know he wasn't gone.

 

But he had also killed someone and drank their blood.

 

And was feeling kinda good actually.

 

Intellectually, he could tell he didn't use to feel like this, but when he walked out of the grave yard, luckily not looking monstrous enough to arouse suspicion, he couldn't help looking at the people in a way he hadn't before.

 

Like they were beneath him.

 

_Food._

 

And he needed more.

 

It would have to be someone he could overpower.

It took a while, but he spotted a petite older woman, walking on her own. He saw her turn to an empty alley and decided to follow her in the hopes he'd get his chance.

 

Unfortunately for him, she seemed to notice, and threw glances behind her, quickening her pace. Prunelle moved quicker, closing in on her as she stumbled with her keys.

 

She opened the door of her apartment and stepped inside.

Prunelle leaped, ready to sink his teeth into her neck.

 

And recoiled at the invisible wall at the door that pushed him away. He couldn't follow her inside.

He hissed as the scared woman slammed the door shut in front of him.

 

"Hey!"

 

Prunelle turned at the other figure on the alley. A man. Big, built like a brick shithouse.

 

Prunelle closed his mouth, hoping he passed for a normal human. He'd have no chance fighting this guy.

 

"I was jusht..." Prunelle stopped, running his tongue on his teeth. They seemed sharper than normal. He needed to get away.

 

The man took another step towards him. "What? What were you trying to do?"

 

He moved closer to Prunelle.

 

Instinctively, Prunelle lifted his hands to shield him in case the man would get violent.

"Wait!"

 

"What?"

 

Prunelle looked him in the eye, feeling an odd connection. Like he could feel him in some new way.

"Don't!" he told him.

 

To his surprise, the man obeyed and stopped with an odd empty look on his face.

 

Careful not to break eye-contact, Prunelle somehow pushed with his mind, ensnaring the other will.

It was fighting back, he could sense it trashing against the mental web it had gotten itself into.

 

"Sleep."

 

To his relief, the man collapsed into a heap, unconscious.

 

So, he could do those kinds of things now. Some kind of hypnotism?

 

Never mind.

He had found dinner, at least.

 

* * *

 

 

After stashing the body in a dumpster, Prunelle felt better.

 

Now that he wasn't hungry anymore, he could think of his next move.

Obviously, the first order of business should be to find a safe place to rest, he might have been dead, but he seemingly still needed sleep.

 

But it seemed like he was unable to go inside. And in any case, returning to his apartment wasn't a good idea.

 

And there were other precautions he needed to take.

"Hey!" he called to a young man passing by.

 

"Hm?"

 

Prunelle made eye-contact. "Follow me." He led him to a side-alley.

 

"Give me your jacket and hat."

At least now he was disguised. And had some money.

 

Prunelle decided to let the man go. He wasn't hungry, and it was one less corpse to hide.

 

"You were robbed. By a young blonde girl." Might as well give a description as far from the truth as possible. He added, "So you were ashamed to admit it, and will not tell anyone."

 

The man nodded.

 

A useful skill indeed.

 

* * *

 

 

Prunelle stared at the office building.

 

It should have been abandoned at this hour, but he could see a light in one of the windows.

 

Lagaffe, presumably.

 

Prunelle hesitated.

It would have been wise to stay away from anyone he knew, but the office felt like a safe place to hide at least to begin with. Plus the idea of Gaston being all alone in the empty office seemed very appealing somehow.

 

The main door was locked, however. Instinctively Prunelle reached to his pocket before realizing this suit didn't have his key.

 

But hadn't he drifted through things before? When he had escaped his coffin. He leaned on the door, trying to think back to it, and slipped through the small opening as mist, relieved he wasn't faced with the same kind of mental block as before.

 

He walked through the empty building, all senses focused on what he could hear and smell.

 

Yes, it was definitely Gaston.

 

Prunelle hesitated, but stepped into the mail room. It was just Gaston, he could feel he was alone. He could deal with Gaston.

 

The office boy's reaction was unexpected. He gasped, dropping whatever he had been working on. "W-what?"

 

Of course, Prunelle had forgotten Gaston must have been told he had died.

 

"P-prunelle? Are you really?"

 

The editor made eye contact before he could step closer. Prunelle had felt full just a moment before, but he wasn't sure what he'd do if Gaston got too close.

 

"It's fine," he told Gaston. "It was all a misunderstanding."

 

Gaston blinked slowly."Mmhuh?"

 

Prunelle couldn't help stepping closer. "You can't tell anyone I was here."

 

He reached a hand to stroke Gaston's neck. This was different. This was Gaston, it wasn't like the people he had fed on. They hadn't mattered.

 

He embraced the younger man and to his surprise Gaston hugged back. Prunelle listened to the heart beat, becoming even more aware of how he was now lacking one.

 

He licked the exposed neck, before moving slightly lower. He couldn't bite Gaston somewhere it would be visible.

 

He bit down, and the blood rushed to his tongue as his fangs pierced the skin. He licked at the surging blood for a bit before withdrawing, leaving two small holes to the neck.

 

He felt at peace now. He wasn't even certain what it had been he had needed, but here it was.

 

"Gaston?"

 

"Mmmm..."

 

"Are you okay?"

 

Gaston nodded, looking like he was stunned.

 

"Good."

 

He could keep coming back to Gaston. If he kept it to small amounts he could keep on feeding off of him indefinitely. He could hide in the archives, find out more about what he was now, stay safe...

 

And Gaston would be _his_.

 

The possessiveness in that thought surprised him, and for a moment he felt guilty.

 

But it passed quickly.

 

* * *

 

 

For the first time Prunelle was thankful for the state of the archives. They made for a good hiding place, and he found the cramped hole he had dug for himself amidst the books and paper weirdly comfortable. He was in no hurry, but he was aware he'd need a plan of some kind eventually. Sunlight hurt him and he was unable to enter some buildings but on the other hand he had gained the ability to shift into mist and hypnotize people.

And what else? And how had he become this? He had tried to figure out how human he looked but to his shock the bathroom mirror had been empty of his reflection. Maybe he could ask Gaston? Or his next victim, before he fed on them.

 

"Hello, can you tell me how human I look?"

 

Prunelle was confident he could escape or overpower any threat as long as he was awake. But when asleep... He had to figure out if he could move during the day.

 

He fought against the fatigue that threatened to overwhelm him. He didn't even need to see the sunrise to feel it in his bones.

 

He shifted into a mist and floated through the air vents to the mail room. Gaston was deep asleep. Good.

 

Prunelle solidified next to him, and frowned at the sunlight coming from the window. This time he was well fed, however, and could bear the light and walk to the window to close the curtains. He walked back to the office boy in the now darkened room. Gaston mumbled in his sleep as the cold hand stroke his neck, but didn't wake up.

 

Just before biting down, Prunelle was distracted by a familiar screech.

 

Frustrated, he hissed at the gull. This only made the bird more angry, and Prunelle managed to just barely avoid its attack by turning into mist and escaping before Gaston could realize he was there.

 

* * *

 

 

Next night, after everyone, even Gaston, had left, Prunelle entered the mail room armed with a broom. Gaston's cat purred and stretched on its bed upon seeing him. Prunelle reached his mind to it, and told it to go to bed. It wasn't quite like hypnotizing a human, but the cat seemed to like him these days anyway. It seemed to almost radiate happiness upon seeing Prunelle.

 

Unlike the gull. It shook itself awake and screamed as the broom hit it. The bird recovered quickly, and effortlessly shrug off any attempt of mind control. It's mind was sharp, and nasty, and full of rage. It lunged at Prunelle.

 

This time he was prepared, and caught the bird by its wing. Prunelle reached his fingers around the tiny throat and with a satisfying snap of its neck the bird went limp.

 

Prunelle hissed. He had wanted to do this for _so_ long...

 

 

* * *

 

 

Prunelle opened his eyes in the darkness of the archives and listened. He focused, his improved hearing telling him the building was quiet. Everyone had gone home.

 

Everyone except...

 

Gaston didn't even seem surprised when Prunelle stepped into the mail room, but just in case Prunelle snared his mind and gestured him to come closer.

 

He hadn't told Gaston to stay after work, so maybe...

 

He ran his fingers on the office boy's cheek. Prunelle had made it a habit to feed on him, never taking much. This was an arrangement that was working well, even if he still had to supplement his diet with a kill or two.

 

He pushed Gaston gently to the sofa. This was different. Gaston was giving it to him willingly, he would have never taken his blood by force. The control over Gaston's mind was simply to keep him from panicking or being too excited, that was all.

 

The smell of the live human body was tantalizing. Prunelle licked his neck and bit down gently. Not too deep, he didn't want to open the wound too wide. He licked at the blood pumping out. Careful not to take too much he tore himself away soon and sealed the wound with a lick.

 

He didn't get up, and instead stayed there, laying on top of Gaston, enjoying the warmth of his blood spreading inside of him. He listened to the heartbeat and breathing, imagining it was his. If he was alive... Could he have ever managed to get this close to Gaston if he hadn't died and come back? But pretending for awhile he had, and that they were both alive-

 

Prunelle was startled by the hand that stroked his hair.

 

"Gaston?"

 

The hypnotized man didn't reply aloud, instead continuing to play with Prunelle's hair. The vampire relaxed. Gaston wouldn't remember anything about this tomorrow.

Yes, if they were the same...

 

He could feel the essence of Gaston inside of him. What if he would take it all? Wasn't Gaston already becoming more like him? If they were the same, he could take Gaston with him. Leave this place...

 

He breathed in the scents of the office. There were others here. He knew those scents. Gaston had been talking to people during the day.

 

As if they could offer him anything like what Prunelle could. Jeanne would never understand...

 

He knew he had to set his plan in motion. Get Gaston to join him permanently.

 

And everything would be okay.

 


End file.
